Crohn's flare up.... starting to freak out

Hi All

I am new here and am looking for a place to discuss my current flare up, as it is starting to freak me out....

I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2010, but my gastro said it was a minor case and I didn't think anything of it... cut to 2017 and I seem to be dealing with my first real flare up and to be honest it is really freaking me out....

About a month ago (july 17th, give ro take) I started to have sudden and frequent bowl movements complete with lots of gas. I also noticed that after some movements there was blood on the toilet tissue or in the bowl, which really freaked me out because that had never happened before. I started looking up symptoms on WedMD and of course it always gives you the worst possible diagnosis, so I immediately thought I had colon cancer. This freaked me out even more, and I immediately made an appt with my gastro to see what was going on, because at this point I didnt even consider that this was a flare up...

About three weeks ago I went to see my gastro and he wrote me a script for Pantesa (which he had given me in 2010) and also some Probiotic pills, and he said that when I come back to see him, which will be this Thursday the 17th, we'll see how I am doing and then go from there.... well, how I am doing is not good. I feel like I am 100% worse than when I saw him a few weeks ago, and it is starting to freak me out.

Over the last 3 weeks, I have gone from having bowel movements every few hours (like normal people) to having one every 10-12 min, and the movements are all liquid, there is nothing solid in them. After I have that initial discharge, the next discharge is usually blood, which I understand to be a symptom of Crohn's, but it still freaks me out. I am also feeling tired, weak, lethargic, and my abdomen is sore from all the movements I ham having...

As I mentioned, I am taking Pantesa, a probiotic and now I added an iron pill to the mix since I seem to be losing blood in hopes of keeping my strength up., and while it helps a bit, I still find myself not wanting to do anything aside from laying on my couch all day trying to rest up from a restless sleep I may have had.

I know I have been rambling, but I am hoping there are others who are/were in my situation and can let me know how long their flares lasted and what I should be on the look out for with regards to this going into remission. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated...

Welcome. The first time, i had a flare i also thought of cancer. Everyone is different. Make sure your doctor keeps close watch on your symptoms. I am no doctor. You may need some stronger medication. Please let us know how you are doing.

How long do these flares usually last?

Today is the first day where I have not had a bowel movement every 15min or so, and I want to hope that maybe I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am pretty sure its because I am taking iron pills to replace lost blood, and that the side effect is constipation...

How long flares last often depends on how long it takes you to get on some medicine to get it under control. I suggest you get in to see a GI right away. He may put you on prednisone or some other strong steroid to try to induce a quick remission, and from there you can together figure out a course of maintenance therapy (immuosuppressants and/or biologics).

You should be aware that Pentasa is the weakest of all the IBD drugs and isn't much good for Crohn's in the first place. Based on your flare I'd say it's likely you need something stronger.

I agree with all the comments,
Pentasa and probiotics are too weak in your case and in many cases. Also be carefull with iron supplements they could be irritant for the gi tract and worsen your symptoms.

Guerrero said:

I agree with all the comments,
Pentasa and probiotics are too weak in your case and in many cases. Also be carefull with iron supplements they could be irritant for the gi tract and worsen your symptoms.

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I had an idea that iron pills could be bad, but I had to do something because I was so weak and lethargic from the blood loss that occurs during a bowel movement. I'll stop taking them immediately.

My follow up appt with my GI is set for this Thursday, and I will ask him about getting put on prednisone to help with remission.

Agree with all the comments. Based on your symptoms, it sounds like the Crohns may have gone into your colon (not sure the original place of diagnosis). The frequency in bowel movements suggests that you are flaring in your descending colon or lower (in particular with the blood in the stool). Do you have tenesmus? The urge to go, without any luck? Your doctor should put you on something stronger, including a biologic (like Remicade). Studies have shown that the more aggressive treatments performed earlier on in diagnosis ensure long term remission. No longer is the step-up approach used (but rather the top-down). I hope you are on the mend soon. You need to deal with this as quickly as possible. Learn from my experiences ....Good luck.

Is your doctor doing labs or a colonoscopy?? I'm very surprised that he just gave you Pentasa. I take Pentasa as a maintenance drug, but it is only that and not strong enough to stop flare symptoms. I had my second flare since diagnosis last winter, and was put on prednisone...which for me makes a difference over night...so as miserable a drug as it is...worth it. I also simplified my already disciplined diet. I always follow a modified version of the specific carbohydrate diet, but when I flared I went back pretty close to the intro diet (basically boiled and pureed veggies, plain meat, bananas, hard boiled eggs, gelatin made with 100% juice) If it's something you're interested in trying scdlifestyle.com breaks it down in a really clear way.

Magnolia24 said:

Is your doctor doing labs or a colonoscopy?? I'm very surprised that he just gave you Pentasa. I take Pentasa as a maintenance drug, but it is only that and not strong enough to stop flare symptoms. I had my second flare since diagnosis last winter, and was put on prednisone...which for me makes a difference over night...so as miserable a drug as it is...worth it. I also simplified my already disciplined diet. I always follow a modified version of the specific carbohydrate diet, but when I flared I went back pretty close to the intro diet (basically boiled and pureed veggies, plain meat, bananas, hard boiled eggs, gelatin made with 100% juice) If it's something you're interested in trying scdlifestyle.com breaks it down in a really clear way.

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I am scheduled for a Colonoscopy on Friday, and I think he put me on Pentasa at first because he thought it was another mild flare-up and when he gave me Pentasa back in 2010, it really helped.

I can say though, since I posted this thread last week, my symptoms have all but disappeared, and my bowel movements are back to being solid and back to around 2-3 movements per day.

I am still keeping the colonoscopy appt, as I want to make sure the flare up is actually in remission and to see what pill he may want to give me to keep it that way.

parisi2274 said:

I am scheduled for a Colonoscopy on Friday, and I think he put me on Pentasa at first because he thought it was another mild flare-up and when he gave me Pentasa back in 2010, it really helped.

I can say though, since I posted this thread last week, my symptoms have all but disappeared, and my bowel movements are back to being solid and back to around 2-3 movements per day.

I am still keeping the colonoscopy appt, as I want to make sure the flare up is actually in remission and to see what pill he may want to give me to keep it that way.

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Sending support.